DHL 'Admin' Fee

[velocefica]

Ordered some electronic components from China as they are a lot cheaper than in the UK. Total Cost £15. They've been sent DHL and a nice text arrived today'

"We would like to deliver a shipment reference 123456 please pay an admin charge of £3.58 via DHL.co

This is not VAT or a custom charge by HMRC. It is an 'admin' fee.

Now i'm not going to cry over £3.58 but it's just the principle of it. It's under the VAT and custom charge threshold so what exactly is the admin fee for?

Is that not what the original cost of posting the item covers.

[maxdb]

They want some money as they are "uk handling agents". Otherwise they will get zilch for delivering the parcel for you.

[Who me ?]

have you checked to see that request does come from DHL and not some scam company. I've had e mails from most of the courier companies ( some even in $$) looking for a fee to be paid for delivery of items I've not even delivered.

[Super Slo Mo]

Be thankful it's so little. Usually it's a £10 or £12 admin fee, and more often than not they also invoice for the vat (and duty sometimes), although this obviously depends on the category of the goods being ordered.

[j4ckos mate]

Deferment fee


We vollied a customer for this.

We were laying out a small fortune in taxes and vst
And making £12 for laying out tens of thousands

[C.A.R.]

Super Slo Mo said:

Be thankful it's so little. Usually it's a £10 or £12 admin fee, and more often than not they also invoice for the vat (and duty sometimes), although this obviously depends on the category of the goods being ordered.

Precisely this - you've got off lightly.

Wait for the classic Royal Mail "we've guessed how much VAT you should have to pay and we're gonna need £8 for 'handling' that little jiffy bag"

Jokers!

[GC8]

Try engaging a customs agent to clear your parcel and then pay C&E directly, and youll soon stop whining.

This is directed at the whining girls and not the OP who makes a perfectly good point. The £10-odd fees are for clearance, whereas this appears to be for nothing.

[mph1977]

C.A.R. said:

Super Slo Mo said:

Be thankful it's so little. Usually it's a £10 or £12 admin fee, and more often than not they also invoice for the vat (and duty sometimes), although this obviously depends on the category of the goods being ordered.

Precisely this - you've got off lightly.

Wait for the classic Royal Mail "we've guessed how much VAT you should have to pay and we're gonna need £8 for 'handling' that little jiffy bag"

Jokers!

it's NOT RM / PFW that decide that , there are HMRC staff atthe international Hub who make that determination /over see the process based o nthe declared value on the customs paperwork and the class of goods declared.

[velocefica]

My problem is not the £3.58 (just means i'll have one less coffee next week ). The cost of the item I paid for a under the £15 and £36 threshold and yet they've still levied this admin fee.

[davepoth]

GC8 said:

Try engaging a customs agent to clear your parcel and then pay C&E directly, and youll soon stop whining.

This is directed at the whining girls and not the OP who makes a perfectly good point. The £10-odd fees are for clearance, whereas this appears to be for nothing.

No, this is still for clearance. Stuff needs to be done even if there is no duty to pay.

[GC8]

Something of a piss-take isn't it, seeing that everything needs to be cleared just as it needs to be sorted: that's part of their service?

Where one leads, others will follow.

[jonwm]

I work for DHL, that charge seems wrong, administration fee is usually higher and is charged when we pay duty on your behalf and give you the benefit of an express clearance, quite happy to look at your waybill if you pm the number, quite a few scammers use this as a way to get your card details.

[Old Merc]

We had something like this from DHL.Bought a present "cheep" online for about £50 from China,delivered,all OK,no problems.
Then about two weeks later got an invoice from DHL for around £15 (cant remember exact sum)this was import duty etc.
First off I thought it a scam,checked the address,phone numbers etc,it was legit.
Of course there was no mention of this UK payment when ordering on the Chinese site so I suppose they could be liable.Try getting it is another thing.
I`m on DHL`s side,its these overseas traders that should be paying.DHL must be seriously out of pocked chasing payments.How many people pay up on the dot? not many I bet.

[GC8]

Old Merc said:

We had something like this from DHL.Bought a present "cheep" online for about £50 from China,delivered,all OK,no problems.
Then about two weeks later got an invoice from DHL for around £15 (cant remember exact sum)this was import duty etc.
First off I thought it a scam,checked the address,phone numbers etc,it was legit.
Of course there was no mention of this UK payment when ordering on the Chinese site so I suppose they could be liable.Try getting it is another thing.
I`m on DHL`s side,its these overseas traders that should be paying.DHL must be seriously out of pocked chasing payments.How many people pay up on the dot? not many I bet.

Get a grip man! Of course they aren't liable - you are! And if DHL (or any other courier) didn't clear the parcel and pay HM C&E for you, you would have to engage a customs agent, pay their fees and pay C&E directly yourself. Only then would you be able collect your parcel from the bonded warehouse.

Edited by GC8 on Monday 31st August 12:23

[Steve H]

GC8 said:

Mate, you're an idiot!

Bit strong.

GC8 said:

Of course they aren't liable - you are! And if DHL (or any other courier) didn't clear the parcel and pay HM C&E for you, you would have to engage a customs agent, pay their fees and pay C&E directly yourself. Only then would you be able collect your parcel from the bonded warehouse.

If DHL didn't clear the parcel etc they wouldn't be much use as couriers.

When I order something including delivery I'm no more interested in collecting it from a bonded warehouse than I am in flying over to China to fetch it in person, I'm paying for it to be delivered and unless there are exceptional or unpredictable circumstances I would expect any tasks involved in that to be covered by the original fee.

[Super Slo Mo]

Steve H said:

If DHL didn't clear the parcel etc they wouldn't be much use as couriers.

When I order something including delivery I'm no more interested in collecting it from a bonded warehouse than I am in flying over to China to fetch it in person, I'm paying for it to be delivered and unless there are exceptional or unpredictable circumstances I would expect any tasks involved in that to be covered by the original fee.

Unfortunately, it doesn't really work like that. Anything that's sold directly from a UK supplier already has those fees taken into account as the UK supplier (we're assuming importer) has already paid them. It's exactly the same, an importer pays a supplier nett of VAT, Duty and sometimes carriage, but is obliged to pay that money to the Government when it passes the UK border.

However, when you're buying directly from an overseas supplier, they have no contract or obligation to the UK Government to pay UK VAT (on your behalf, it must be noted), and thus it becomes the responsibility of the importer, which in this case is you.

I understand what you're saying, the original carriage fee should take this into account, but it doesn't, at the moment at least.
It would probably require international agreement between nations for this to happen, a bit like it has already with Europe.

The reality, of course, is that it isn't really much cheaper to purchase goods directly from China. It's also difficult for UK suppliers to compete on headline pricing terms, because UK prices have to include VAT and Duty, whereas the Chinese ones don't.
Unfortunately, as you've found out, you're still liable for those fees.

[GC8]

Steve H said:

GC8 said:

Mate, you're an idiot!

Bit strong.

Agreed. The lack of worldliness displayed in comments like these really antagonises me though.

Edited by GC8 on Monday 31st August 13:59

[GC8]

Steve H said:

If DHL didn't clear the parcel etc they wouldn't be much use as couriers.

When I order something including delivery I'm no more interested in collecting it from a bonded warehouse than I am in flying over to China to fetch it in person, I'm paying for it to be delivered and unless there are exceptional or unpredictable circumstances I would expect any tasks involved in that to be covered by the original fee.

My point is that people should appreciate what they are actually paying for, and realise what they would have to do without the service. Couriers pay thousands and probably millions to C&E on behalf of the recipients, and this costs money.

Of course I would prefer to avoid duty when I import something, but if I am unlucky then I suck it up, even where the couriers seem to be charging more than competitors.

[Nickyboy]

Old Merc said:

DHL must be seriously out of pocked chasing payments.How many people pay up on the dot? not many I bet.

Which is why UPS opt to collect and duties on delivery

[Old Merc]

GC8 said:

Agreed. The stupidity/ignorance displayed in comments like these really antagonises me though.

We may be stupid and ignorant (bit harsh?) but how are we to know about these charges unless its there in black and white on the traders site.?? Most people are not customs/import/courier experts so its up to these companies to make it clear when ordering that there will be extra fees UK side.A full and final payment that includes delivery should mean what it says.
When I said the Chinese trader should pay I was meaning to add LOL or a smiler,but if they trick you into thinking there nothing extra to pay thats wrong.